WHO WE WORK WITH
We work with companies that have good people, good products and good reputations to help them achieve the financial results they need and deserve.
Change and an increasingly complex environment can quickly make a successful established business formula obsolete: we help our clients understand what is happening and make change and complexity work to their advantage.
Do you recognise these problems?
- Heroic efforts produce average results. There is no question about the talent and commitment of your people or the quality of their work, but somehow the bottom line remains stubbornly average.
- You have cut costs to the bone but still need to improve profitability. You have done all the obvious things, beaten up all your suppliers and get the best rates of anyone in the sector, but it is not enough. Profitability remains average.
- You have excellent people but struggle to pay them what they are worth. At pay review time you are trying hard to hold down increases but know that you risk people defecting for higher earnings elsewhere. How do your competitors manage to pay these rates and still make money?
- Staff are heading for burnout. You know people are working unsustainably hard and you are going to lose some of them, but you can't slow down or the work doesn't get done. If you try to take on extra staff, you can't afford it.
- Disagreements about causes and remedies are stressing the organisation. You can't pin down why you aren't profitable enough. Everyone has a different view, people are blaming each other. The data is unclear, contradictory or just not there. You spend a lot of time discussing the issue, adding to the stress of overwork without achieving any real results. Without agreement on the causes of problems, it is difficult to gain sustained commitment to any plans for improvement.
- You need to generate funds for investment, but you can't do it internally. Returns from the business are enough to keep going as you are, but not enough to fund the development you need to stay on top. External funds either are just not available or come at an unacceptable price.
What sort of companies benefit from working with us?
We are not industry specialists but have a range of tools and skills which can help companies in many different sectors. These are the characteristics which we find lead to successful outcomes:
- You know your markets. You know your competitors well. You have an objective and realistic view of how they stand relative to you, what they are planning, their strengths and weaknesses, their financial performance. You acknowledge where they are stronger than you and work out what to do about it. You deal honestly with feedback from customers and potential customers, even when it is not what you want to hear.
- You are prepared to change the way you look at your business. You know that the answer is probably not to change everything, but neither is it business as usual. You recognise that it is not good enough just to find cheaper ways of doing exactly as you have always done. Things change and you need to re-examine some of the beliefs, assumptions and ways of working that have made you successful up to now. If individuals feel threatened by this change, you know how to support them and keep them on side.
- You have an open management style. You share information on financial performance and key performance indicators widely throughout the organisation. You are as open as you can be about your future plans and your view of the opportunities and threats. Your basic principle is the opposite of "need to know" – you share relevant information unless there is a compelling reason not to do so.
- You have a commitment to rational debate. In dealing with a problem you look first for information, not opinions. You ensure all points of view get a hearing. Senior management tries to stimulate and guide debate and discussion, not impose its own ready-formed point of view.
- You are strong on accountability. As individuals or as groups, your people take accountability for agreed results and take pride in meeting goals. The organisation supports this by establishing clear standards of performance and providing good feedback. People don't spend time trying to shift blame, but work together to resolve problems.
Now that you have a better idea of the type of issues, concerns and challenges facing our clients and the type of clients who find success working with us, learn more about our approach and How We Work.